AutoCAD Tip – Clearing modified File History

by Dennis Collin

When working in AutoCAD, the software will remember the files that users have previously worked on and will present them as click-able thumbnails for easy access on the start tab, or as a list within the application menu. Whilst this file history is useful, to resume editing files in subsequent sessions, there is sometimes a need or desire to have this historical list of drawing files to be 'purged'.

Fig 1. Over time AutoCAD’s Start tab can get messy.

This cleaning history process is very straightforward. Simply open the Options Menu and go to the Open and Save Tab. Set the number of recently used files to zero in both the file open and the application menu section as indicated in the image below.

Fig 2. Clearing AutoCAD’s edited file history.

If the list needs to be cleaned more selectively, users can click on an individual thumbnail image, choose the ellipsis button, and select remove from the list option.

Fig 3. Files can also be removed more selectively.

Once the changes have been applied, AutoCAD will need to restart to show the blank start page and application menu.

Fig 4. Starting AutoCAD with a clean slate Start tab!

Once purged the number of files in the history can be set back to the default value of 9 and 50 at any time. The same process can also be employed to clean the AutoCAD LT start tab.

A lot of these processes, tips and tricks are covered on our custom AutoCAD courses, bespoke workshops or ‘at elbow days’. For more information visit https://arkance.world/gb-en/training or ask a question on the Live Chat facility where we can provide more help.